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31st March 2011 – New Fancy View
just before lunchtime yielded a close flying Goshawk and another later in the
distance.Buzzards and Ravens were also
on the wing and in a close conifer tree there was an immaculate male Crossbill
with a female nearby and 2 others also not far away.

At
Nagshead in the afternoon, a Nuthatch was nest
building in a box along the lower part of the short trail.

30th March 2011 – A dull, overcast
to the day and some heavy rain for a while mid-morning.A Nagshead in
the afternoon, I walked around the general area of the long trail.There were two Greylag Geese on the
Nursery Pond, one with a metal ring starting with the characters
‘52423’ but I could not get the full series.There were at least 3 deer running near
the forestry track on my return and another single Fallow Deer sat down not far
from the rear of the information centre near the main forestry track.

29th March
2011 – Slimbridge.There was light rain en route but the
day brightened up and in the afternoon, there was some sunshine.The Lesser Scaup
was on the scrape at the Robbie Garnett Hide and apparently paired with a
Tufted Duck.At the feeder in front
of the HoldenTower, there were 4 Reed
Bunting.

26th March 2011 – On a visit to Slimbridge today to attend a swan study group meeting, I
noted a green ringed Mediterranean Gull on Rushy
Pen.This bird was moulting into
second summer plumage and was ringed in June 2009 in France and had been seen in Spain.

25th March 2011 – A Peacock
Butterfly in a garden at Milkwall was a first of the
year for me.

24th March 2011 – Spent a couple
of hours from 1235 at Symond’sYat viewpoint.The two local Peregrines were very active and there was much
flying.A Goshawk was noted to the
north of the area and also later over The Doward.A fine, sunny and warm
day.

23rd March 2011 – I was walking
over the Doward near Symond’sYat west this afternoon and noted a plethora of
primroses and wood anemonies out in full flower in
the beautiful spring sunshine, the temperature at 1300 being 16 deg. C.

22nd March 2011 – I called into
the hide at Ashleworth just after lunch.There are still a number of duck present
and the water level does not appear to have decreased over the past week.Shoveler, Wigeon and Mallard were the most numerous species.Teal, Coot and a Gadwall were also there
but no Pintail noted.A Little
Grebe was heard ‘trilling’ and 2 Mute Swans were adjacent to the
screen hide.The only geese were 2
Greylag Geese over the back of the main scrape.

I
walked down the Wysis Way at Barber’s Bridge
towards Rudford Mill in the late afternoon and noted
a mass of flowering white violets.

19th March 2011 – A fine sunny day
which was very spring like after a cold start and I had to scrape the ice off
the car before I went to Devizes for a meeting.On Etchilhampton
Hill to the south east of the town centre, I noted a Corn Bunting in full song
on top of a big bush.Approximately
100 Golden Plover were swirling around over the downs very near to the
town.

15th March
2011 – Ashleworth.I had a short visit to the hide just
after lunch.There are still a number
of duck present and a reasonable amount of water given the dry conditions of
late.Mallard, Teal, Wigeon, Pintail and Shoveler were
the most numerous species present.

I
moved on to Slimbridge later in the afternoon and now
can confirm the reports that the last of the Bewick’s
Swans have departed on their migration.3 Greater Scaup were on the scrape in front of
the Robbie Garnett Hide, 2 males and a female.The first butterfly of
the year that I noted was today near the car park and it was, as expected,
a Brimstone.

12th March
2011 – Ashleworth.En route I checked the brilliantly green
field at Minsterworth for any sign of winter swans
but found none and none were on the Hams at Ashleworth
and Hasfield.I stayed for about 20 minutes in the hide and noted a few duck
present.Most of them appeared to
be Wigeon and Shoveler and
of note there were 2 Little Grebe together, trilling, and 2 Tufted Duck.

11th March 2011 – I checked Rodley again today at 1300 in view of the apparent
migration flight yesterday late afternoon.I found no Bewick’s Swans, only Mute
Swans.I did a quick check of Walmore Common and again drew a blank.Perhaps they were really on a migration
flight.

I
called in briefly at SymondsYat
in the late afternoon where there appeared to be one of the Peregrines perched
in the Ash Tree between the two cliffs and there were also 3 Goosander (1 male)
on the river below the viewpoint.

10th March
2011 – To Slimbridge
again.There
were only 20 Bewick’s Swans on the Tack Piece and
at 1645, 3 flew on to the Rushy Pen, 16 went north
but one which was not really with the flock returned and landed on the Tack
Piece over at the back where one lone swan had been loafing away from the
others.The remaining 15 went on to
the north east in line with the line of Turkey Oaks and eventually I
lost sight of them in my binocular field.It seems that only 5 now remain.One of these is one named Winterling which is
the longevity record holder at 28 years.When she took off from the Tack Piece she looked a bit laboured and
seems to be showing her age.She
was still on the Rushy Pen, flopped down with two
other birds when I left.

8th March 2011 – I went to Rodley again this morning to find that there were 14(7) Bewick’s Swans on the same field.I then checked Walmore
Common at 1125 en route to Ashleworth.On the Common I found the 4(1) Whooper
Swans.

At Ashleworth
there were a few duck present, the two main species being Wigeon
and Shoveler.There were also 4 Tufted Duck, a Little Grebe and a Common Snipe.

At Slimbridge
there were 38 Bewick’s Swans on the Tack Piece
and 3 more were on the Rushy Pen and so there were 41
birds which is the number reported as being present.It seems that I was correct in the
prediction of a migration last night.The LesseScaup was
present on the scrape in front of the Robbie Garnett hide. There were 205
White-fronted Geese in total on the Tack Piece and Dumbles
so many of them seem to have departed too.

At Patch Bridge in the
trees by the cow shed, the single rook nest which has been there for some time
has now been ‘joined’ by 3 others!

7th March 2011 – A visit to Slimbridge to see what the state of play was concerned
regarding the Bewick’s Swans migration.I found 129 swans on the Tack Piece at
1530 including 2 of the neck collared birds (002T and 008T) and there were 314
White-fronted Geese on the Tack Piece with 53 on the flood wall making a total
of 367 but there were more over the wall too as occasionally I could see heads
popping up.This is a good number
for this date in March.

En
route home, I noted an easterly drift to the wind in the smoke from cottages
along the A40 to the west of Gloucester.I checked the conditions at 2315 and by
now the wind had dropped out and thus I think that conditions would be good for
a migration flight tonight.

6th March 2011 – I did an early
morning walk around the cycle trail starting and finishing at Cannop Ponds via TheDilkeHospital.Just above the ponds on the track to New
Fancy View, I caught sight of some deer in the early morning darkness.When I got to the junction where right
is Farmers Green where the shrike was a couple of years ago, I refound the deer herd.Among them was the mythical white stag.Found at last and in the general area
where it has been reported several times.

4th March 2011 – A cold but
beautifully sunny day and I walked from Rodley on the
banks of the River Severn upstream to find some
swans which had been reported to the north.I found 6 Mute Swans, 4(1) Whooper Swans
and 40(11) Bewick’s Swans making a total of 50
birds at 1200.Skylarks were seen
and heard along the river bank.

3rd March 2011 – Today, I went to
the CotswoldWaterPark and initially parked at
pit 57.I was disappointed to see
that the vegetation has grown up along the Thames Path at pit 57 and it is
not easy to see much of the water.This pit has been spoiled from a natural history point of view by the
housing development.I walked north
along the Thames Path through the Neighbridge area and into a field system which was more
pleasant. There were 6 Goosander on NeighbridgeLake.I returned to the car and repositioned
it to Waterhay car park and walked the path towards
Ashton Keynes where there were several Red-crested Pochards.Things have not changed much here since
I last visited some time ago.I
returned towards Waterhay and then went on to the
north-west.I see that the first
hide has been repositioned and the willows which were growing fast and
obscuring the views when I last visited are now in total dominance as far any
viewing is concerned.I went into
the hide and see that although there is some open water in front of it, there will be an incursion soon if it is not
managed.I eventually ended up at
Hailstone Hill.The many lakes
along the Thames Path had a variety of
ducks including a good number of Gadwall and Tufted Duck.It was a bitterly cold and overcast day
with a biting north easterly wind and there were very few people about and thus
the birds were largely undisturbed.

1st March 2011 – I went and
walked some field footpaths in the Rockhampton area
to the south of Slimbridge to look at the general
habitat.There are large fields,
few houses and farms, plenty of hedgerows and some small woodland plantations
in the gentle rolling terrain.I
must try and get back in the spring and see what birds are breeding in this
relatively undisturbed area.

I
moved on to Slimbridge and managed to get some more
bill pattern photographs of the Bewick’s Swans
for the database.The Lesser Scaup and one male and one female Greater Scaup were noted on the Rushy
Pen.

28th February 2011 – A colder day
than of late and I made another visit to Slimbridge
to take some more Bewick’s Swan bill pattern
pictures.Before lunch, the two
male Greater Scaup and the female Lesser Scaup were on the Rushy Pen and
later in the day, a female Greater Scaup joined
them.After lunch, I moved over to SouthLake and looked both from
that hide and the Hogarth Hide for the reported
Spoonbill on that lake.I did not
find it but after a visit to the South Finger hides in search of Bewick’s Swans, I found the Spoonbill on the Bottom
New Piece which held quite a number of birds including 10 Ruff, several
Redshank and Dunlin.There were
4(2) Bewick’s Swans on the Top New Piece.I moved back to the HoldenTower where I could see more
swans on the Tack Piece.I made a
count there of 146 swans and 5 minutes later, there were 6 on the Rushy Pen, thus there was a minimum of 146 birds and a
maximum of 156.There hadbeen a report
of about half of the daily wintering visitors having departed on migration and
this seems to be correct.

27th February 2011 – A walk down the Gloucestershire
Way at Nagshead RSPB Reserve
in the afternoon, then up and around the long trail.There were three,
stinging hail showers on the walk and probably because of this weather, the
woods were very quiet.

25th February
2011 – Slimbridge.Overcast weather which deteriorated into
rain after lunchtime.There
appeared to be plenty of Bewick’s Swans still
present, indeed, there seems to have be no departures at all.Another batch of Bewick’s
Swan bill pattern pictures obtained.

24th February 2011 – A warm,
spring-like day.I was walking
around the open area opposite the Rising Sun Public House at Moseley
Green.What was noticeable was the
amount of frog spawn not only in the small pools but also on the mossy ground
and even on the top of sawn off tree stumps!

23rd February 2011 – A day visit to Strumble Head.I helped in the creation of a 25m sand sculpture of a whale which was a
publicity venture for Seatrust, the marine mammal arm
of the Pembrokeshire Wildlife Trust.I made a short visit to the Head. Surprisingly, there were a number of
Gannets passing which is unusual at this time of year.

22nd February
2011 – Another very short visit to Slimbridge.One Greater Scaup still on Rushy Pen.

21st February 2011 – A very short
visit to Slimbridge to get some more bill pattern
photographs.It would appear that
none of the Bewick’s Swans have departed on
migration yet.This is not
surprising as the previous few nights have been overcast if not somewhat misty
and the wind, although not strong, has been in the east and thus would form a
headwind for them on their way.This situation may change in the next couple of days.Both of the Greater Scaup
and the Lesser Scaup were present on the Rushy Pen this afternoon.

19th February 2011 – I went to Ashleworth hide for an hour at 1400.There were approximately 80 Black-headed
Gulls which is an unusual species for this site.5 Curlew were of note but generally
there were very few ducks present but there were several of the usual species,
Mallard, Shoveler, Pintail, Teal, Wigeon,
Gadwall and 2 Tufted Duck.The only
geese present were 2 Greylag Geese.

18th February 2011 – Another day at Slimbridge, this time to take many bill pattern pictures of
the Bewick’s Swans for the swan research
data.The Bewick’s
Swans seem much more settled than of late and the Rushy
Pen was quite tranquil.The birds
are not doing much and they are sleeping a lot on the Tack Piece, all in
preparation for their migrantion which will start any
day soon when the weather conditions are favourable.I logged 127 on the Tack Piece, 12 on
the Top New Piece but none on the river or Dumbles.They have been using the river recently
but usually only when they have been disturbed and at the moment they appear to
be very relaxed and contented.On
the feeders at the Hogarth Hide, among the usual
birds, there was a Rook actually clinging to a seed feeder.Also present was a female Brambling and
on the feeders, a male and female Reed Bunting.The two Greater Scaup
were on the Rushy Pen but there was no sign of the
Lesser Scaup.

15th February 2011 – A day at Slimbridge where I took a series of videos of the Bewick’s Swans.On the way back at about 1700, there were two big flocks of pre roosting
Starlings at either end of the Quedgeley Bypass.

14th February 2011 – Went to SymondsYat today at 1400 to
1600.There was an odd shower but
generally very good visibility and dry but a little cold.It was 5 deg. C. at 1700.Both Peregrines were seen, 12 Buzzards
were in the air together and about 190 Woodpigeons were perched up around the
Peregrines breeding cliffs.

13th February
2011 – A lot of rain today – 14mm.

10th February 2011 – A rainy, mild
day.I went to Slimbridge
by lunchtime.The usual packed Rushy Pen was empty as there was a reported flush earlier
in the day.On the Tack Piece at
1430, there were 63 Bewick’sSwans,
an Oystercatcher flew over calling which was the first of the year.Of note, there were 10 Ruff, 2 Greater Scaup, a Lesser Scaupand 203
White-fronted Geese.There were a
further 178 swans present on the river in the far distance at 1500 but I
believed that some more may have been hidden by some distant sandbanks.There were 8 more swans on the Top New
Piece making a total for the day of 249 swans.From 1530, swans were flying in from the
river but after circling the Rushy Pen for a few
minutes, they retreated to the Tack Piece.This kept happening. By 1615, the feed had been cut short as there were
few waterfowl present and they were backing off from the warden and there were
only 19 swans present.A little
later, the only neck-collared bird of the day, ‘008T’ flew in.Could this strange behaviour be
explained as pre-migratory restlessness?

7th February 2011 – A short walk
over Crabtree Hill, here in the Forest of Dean.Nothing apart from a single Fallow Deer
was of note.

5th February 2011
– Just half an hour in the hide at Ashleworth
just after lunch. The raptor presence included 2 Buzzards, one of
which was harassed by a Peregrine and later a lone Kestrel overflew.Waterfowl included the usual selection
of ducks 2 Greylag Geese and 8 Tufted Duck with 2 Mute Swans in the vegetation
at the back of the scrape.The
water level has dropped a bit since the last visit.It was an overcast day, very mild (12
deg. C. at 1300) and very windy.

4th February 2011
– Slimbridge in the afternoon on a day of gloom
and drizzle with very strong winds.229 Bewick’s Swans were on the Tack
Piece, 4 on the Top New Piece and 2 on the rain and windswept Dumbles.Again,
in spite of the conditions, I was able to get more pictures of the neck collars
and more data on them for the research department.An excellent afternoon
in poor weather.

3rd February 2011 –One of the local
Buzzards came down in my garden this morning and was foraging only about 5m
from my bedroom window.This was a
first for the garden.

Another afternoon at Slimbridge.I walked from the Centre down the canal to the south.In the roadside fields there were many Lapwing and 1 Ruff.There were also many more Lapwing in the
various canalside fields.I noted a small number of Bewick’s Swans using the field at the back of the Van
de Bovenkamp hide.This is not a field that they use very
often.Back at the Centre, the
majority of the swans were on the Tack Piece where I logged 214 at 1525.There was also many Dunlin,
Lapwing, an even bigger number of Wigeon, a few
Redshank and a handful of Linnets.I managed to get a good amount of data from the neck collared birds
present in terms of their behaviour and the position of the electronics package
on the collar.

Late in the afternoon and
overnight it was quite windy.

1st February 2011 – A bright, sunny
and mild afternoon at Slimbridge.The main aim of the trip was to
photograph the newly neck-collared birds from the recent swan catch for the
research department.The light
conditions were good and a number of photographs of the birds in many differing
postures were obtained.An excellent afternoon.By contrast with the afternoon, it was quite cold and very foggy in the
late evening.

31st January 2011 – A bright but
cold day.At Nagshead
between 1350 and 1630, I walked down to Cannop Ponds
around the southern pond and back via the western ridge.There is a lot of work
being done on the eastern bank of the pond where an unstable wall has had to be
repaired.Unfortunately this
has meant that a lot of trees and thick vegetation has had to be removed.

On
the Gloucestershire Way, a single Fallow Deer
took its time to cross.It appeared
to be looking at me for a while as I watched it through my binoculars.It eventually lost interest in me or
decided that I was no threat as I had not moved, fed for a short while before
wandering slowly off.I noted that
the ice has been broken at the Wild Boar wallowing site.All other small puddles are frozen over
as is the majority of the pond at Cannop.

Had lunch in the car park at the back of Speech House Hotel with
the large log in the middle of it.Here, someone feeds the birds and in the half hour that I was there, the
following species were noted on or around this log.Robin, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Long-tailed
Tit, Song Thrush, Blackbird, Carrion Crow, Nuthatch, Treecreeper
(moving horizontally on the log which looked strange), Jay, Stock Dove,
Chaffinch and Coal Tit.

29th January
2011 – Ashleworth
between 1120 and 1150.It was
very cold and overcast with the temperature at 1100, only 1 deg. C.There was ice on the scrapes with some
free water.There was only a little
water on Hasfield Ham.There were about 600 waterfowl in front
of the hide and about 400 one field back but many concealed by vegetation, thus
makin about 1000 birds present.Of note, 5 Tufted Ducks which are rare
here and 4 Pied Wagtails on the ice at the edge of the water nearest the
hide.There were 3 Mute Swans but
no wild swans seen.

28th January 2011 – A walk on Chosen
Hill, near Churchdown.Just as I was leaving in the late
afternoon, I heard a Raven calling in the area that I had seen them nesting in
2000 and 2001.I expect that they
are now regular breeders here.

27th January
2011 – A dull and cold day again.Went to Slimbridge to give the pictures of yesterdays catch to the
research officer.All of the
neck collared swans were at the feed and the lake has returned to normal.

26th January 2011 – Another early
start to go to Slimbridge for a second attempt at the
swan catch.Although it was raining
at 0645, the morning was overcast by dry and the catch went ahead and was an
excellent one with all aims achieved and 29 Bewick’s
Swans caught..

25th January 2011 – An early start
to be at Slimbridge by 0730 for a planned swan catch
but this did not take place as conditions were not quite right.Waked south down the canal and found 20 Bewick’s Swans at 1025 on the Four Score field and
there were 24 at the same place on my way back at 1040.There were 70 Curlew in the roadside
field nearest to South Lake as I set off on my wallk.Back at the Centre, there was quite a
bit of movement around the area of several species of birds.These included Golden Plover, Lapwing
and White-fronted Geese in discreet flocks.The geese came into the Tack Piece at
1230, some bathed and some drank or both and then they flew off in small
groups.There is plenty of fresh
water on that field as it is partly flooded.Steady rain in the afternoon.

24th January 2011 – A dull but dry
day.I went out in the late
afternoon for a short walk.I
parked at the top of Plump Hill and walked the Wysis
Way around the area known as The Wilderness.Of note was yet
another Treecreeper busy foraging and a singing Great
Tit which suggests that spring is not far away.

23rd January 2011 – I was in the
hide at Ashleworth at 0730 in the darkness.As it slowly got light, it was an
overcast day which slowly got lighter and indeed there were some very light
showers at 0800.I could just make
out some white domes in the far distance on field 27 and at 0800, these
‘domes’ woke up and I could see that they were swans.I was able to see that they were Bewick’s Swans so I went up Stank Lane and found 4
Mute Swans on Hasfield Ham, field 22 and finally
13(5) Bewick’s Swans on the said field 27.A large flock of Long-tailed Tits were
all around me as I watched the swans.I left them alone, having made the count, and returned to the hide.I was able to get closer today because
the flood water had virtually gone from the lane and I had my telescope with
me.

In
the afternoon, I made a visit to Coleford and walked
around the long trail at Nagshead where there were at
least 2 Treecreeper, 1 Goldcrest
and a flock of Long-tailed Tits.There was a flock of 20 Siskins around Nagshead Lodge but I suspect that there were many more than
that as there seemed to be a lot of movement.I checked the baited areas at the two
Cyril Hart Arboretum car parks.There were a lot of birds including Blue Tits, Coal Tits, Great Tits and
Chaffinch but there was continual disturbance because there were so many people
about as the afternoon had brightened up.I will have to go back and check these areas again on a weekday. I had noted some peanut strings around
some tree branches at New Fancy View, so that car park is being baited
too.

22nd January 2011 – Ashleworth in the afternoon.The were many duck and numerous Canada
Geese on the Ham which has a lot of flood water on it.A walk along Stank Lane I thought would
be unproductive because I thought that the pheasant shooters had been up
there.I had seen a lot of
four-wheeled drive vehicles passing the hide with a trailer with dead pheasants
on it.There were lots of tyre
tracks in the mud up the lane giving the impression of many vehicles.A small flock of Fieldfare with a few
Redwings and Starlings were in a field to the side of the lane.On Hasfield
Ham there were 2 Mute Swans and 10 other swans in the far distance which I
thought to be Bewick’s Swans.I could not get any closer for a look
with the binoculars because the top of Stank Lane was flooded.I retreated to the hide and tried to get
a positive identification with the scope but the light was failing fast and I
was unsure of the sighting.As I
left the hide in the near dark, I heard them calling.They were Bewick’s
Swans.

21st January 2011 – Another dry
day but with a little more cloud and still cold.I walked from Lower Lydbrook
again but this time along the other bank and followed the footpath which used
to be the railway line towards SymondsYat.I
didn’t see any Goosander today but there was a Fallow Deer on the hill on
the other side of the river.Generally it was quiet but there were dozens of Mallard on the river, a
few Buzzards over and many Pheasants.I did not see anything of the Peregrines as I passed below their
breeding cliffs.I passed the
tunnel under SymondsYat
Rock and then climbed up to the viewpoint from further downstream.It was very quiet up on top and no
Peregrines were on view.I had my
lunch there accompanied by Great Tits, Robin, Coal Tits, Chaffinch and
Nuthatch.I returned the way I had
come before taking a sloping track of the Wye Valley walk and returned to the
railway track upstream of the tunnel.Here I could hear a Tawny Owl hooting but no sign of the Peregrine.Back by the big disused factory near
Lower Lydbrook, a pair of Bullfinch were near the
public footpath.

20th January 2011 – Yet another
fine and settled day with blue skies.I walked from west of Lower Lydbrook, across
the railway bridge and towards SymondsYat along the far bank of the River Wye, finally going up
the permissive path onto Coppet Hill.3 Goosander (1 male) were very close on
the river.5 Buzzards were overhead
together at one point.At lunch
below Yat Rock, a Sparrowhawk
passed through.Up the hill, I came
across a very young Fallow Deer just off the path and I passed within 10 metres
without it running away.There were
43 Mute Swans in a field near Huntsham Bridge as seen
from the hill.Back down to the
river and one of the Peregrines was in a tree near the eyrie cliff.Another pair of Goosander were near the
railway bridge on my return with the sun almost setting at 1630.

19th January 2011 – Another fine,
sunny day.I went to Slimbridge to try to get more bill pattern
photographs.I walked south along
the canal again to look for any swans.There were at least 500 Lapwing in the fields either side of the road
nearest the Centre.There were many
more in field beyond which I noted when they flew up.A female Kestrel was in the canal side
trees.I didn’t find any
swans but I was not surprised as 2 hunts people rode down the lane and then
turned down the track at the back of South Lake and proceded
to the south of the reserve and then were lost from view.Ice was still on the field and roadside
puddles.At the Centre, a Ruff was
of note from the Zeiss Hide from where I could see at
least 146 Bewick’s Swans on the river in the
distance but many more must have been under the bank and out of sight. From
that hide there were many Teal, Wigeon and
Lapwing.

18thJanauary
2011 – A fine, sunny, blue sky day.I went to SymondsYat
and arrived at 1435.Upon arrival, the
two resident Peregrines were in the Ash Tree between the two eyrie cliffs.They were gone by 1545 but must have
been hunting because at 1600, they both returned and one had feathers in its
talons which it removed and which floated away on the breeze. There were many Buzzards soaring during
the afternoon with a maximum of 7 at one time.

17th January 2011 – A short visit
to Ashleworth on a dull day with low cloud but with
an occasional sunny interval.There
was more water there than on the 15th January.Mallard/Teal/Wigeon
were the main birds present with Pintail/Shoveler/Gadwall
in smaller numbers.3 Tufted Duck,
unusual here, were also present.There was a Buzzard on a pylon.There was also much more water on Hasfield Ham
where there were more birds including many Black-headed Gulls.2 Mute Swans were on Ashleworth
Ham and 2 were on Hasfield Ham where 14 Lapwing were
in flight.A Great Spotted
Woodpecker was in the copse by the hide.

In
the afternoon, I moved on to Slimbridge.I walked south along the canal between
1400 and 1500 in search of Bewick’s Swans but I
found none.Back at the Centre
there were 111 swans on the Tack Piece at 1530 and 15 on the Dumbles.3 came
off the river from under the near bank where I suspected that there were
more.I noted a Snipe from the
Martin Smith Hide in exactly the same place as one had been on the 14th
January.

16th January 2011- A very wet afternoon
after an unexpectedly dry morning.The local Buzzards were flying again this morning to confirm their
reappearance first noted on 14th January.

15th January 2011 – A lunchtime
visit to Ashleworth found much more water there than
on Tuesday 11th January.There was considerable water on Hasfield Ham
as well.There were very few waterfowl
and what was present were well spaced out.Teal, Mallard and Wigeon were the most
numerous and also there were 1 Gadwall and 3 Tufted Duck.Two Peregrines on the same bar of a
pylon was unusual.At Haw Bridge,
the river level was 10.08m at 1430, this being very high.I think that there could be a river
flood later in the week.

14th January 2011 – Slimbridge.Another flush had taken place on this overcast day which gradually got
brighter as the afternoon progressed.47 Bewick’s Swans were on the Dumbles and 197 on the Tack Piece.A Snipe, seen from the Martin Smith Hide
was in the same place as yesterday.

At
home at Longhope, I noted for the first time this
year and the first time since the very cold weather that the local Buzzards
have returned.I had not had a
sighting of them this year until today.

13th January 2011 – A short visit
to Slimbridge.A mild day with the temperature at 12 deg. C. at 1200.Another flush had taken place in the
morning and there were very few birds on Rushy Pen
after lunch.The Bewick’s Swans were on the Dumbles
and the Tack Piece, 64 and 127 birds respectively at 1405with only 10(4) on the Rushy Pen.By
2100, 7mm of rain had fallen making a total of 16mm over two days.

11th January 2011 – A very quick
visit to Ashleworth and the water level has risen
since last night.There were,
however, far less birds present.

I
moved on to Slimbridge only to find again that there
had been a flush of Rushy Pen.I managed to get some more Bewick’s Swans bill pattern photographs as they came
in to the lake later in the afternoon.I did find 7 adult Bewick’s Swans on the
Tack Piece at 1515 and 199 swans were on the Dumbles.

10th January 2011 – A quick visit
to Ashleworth at 1615 to check the water levels and
to see if any wild swans came in to roost.The river at Haw Bridge was quite high and there was more water on Ashleworth Ham than on 8th January.The duck were well scattered mainly
around the perimeter of the water and were mainly Wigeon
and Teal.Just before my arrival it
started to rain which got progressively heavy and by dark at 1700, it was
torrential.No swans came in to
roost by 1700.

9th January 2011 – A bright, blue
sky day but rather cold.0 deg. C.
at 0925 en route to SymondsYat.A particularly wanted to visit this site
early in the year to see how the resident pair of Peregrines were faringafter the weeks of very cold
weather.I arrived at the view
point at 1000.Looking across
towards the breeding cliffs at this time on a bright morning was looking almost
into sun and difficult to pick out any detail.However, at 1025, the apparent local
pair were seen flying purposefully away from the cliffs and over Coppet Hill and then they interacted with another bird, by
size, a male which was seen off.Then 10 minutes later, the local pair were noted again flying
purposefully over the flagpole and off towards The Doward
and again appeared to see off another bird.These interactions in the 35 or so
minutes were great to see in that not only have the local pair come through the
month or so of severe weather but are very active and defending their territory
well in preparation for the breeding season.

Later
in the afternoon, I went to Nagshead on my way home
from Coleford.Along the short trail it was nice
to see a party of Long-tailed Tits and at Nagshead
Lodge there were Chaffinches, Blue Tits, Great Tits, a Coal Tit and some Siskins near the garden which has feeders in it.

8th January 2011 – Coombe Hill Canal 0915 to 1045.It was bright, breezy and cool.12 Mallard were on the canal and in the
canal side bushes there were Dunnock and
Bullfinch.From the Grundon Hide, 1 juvenile White-fronted Goose with 82
Greylag Geese and 27 Canada Geese.At least 29 Lapwing but there was almost certainly more hidden by the
vegetation.At least 1000 Wigeon and 50 Teal but they were very mobile around the
scrapes and associated field and this is an underestimate.2 Shelduck and
2(1) Mute Swans were also present.A Grey Heron and 2 Cormorant completed the picture.Back along the canal, Fieldfare and
Redwing overflew.There was still some ice on the canal
where the bank side vegetation has been cleared on both sides to the
footbridge.There was no ice on the
scrapes.

Ashleworth 1105 to 1130.More water noted than on 4th
January and no ice today.Duck
numbers were 24 Mallard, 17 Gadwall, 6 Pintail, 36 Wigeon,
3 Shoveler, 88 Teal with Redwing and Fieldfare again
overhead.Almost certainly more
duck were hidden in the vegetation.

Slimbridge 1400 to 1615.A flush had taken place on the Rushy Pen and when I arrived, there were very few birds on
that lake.I found the Lesser Scaup on the South Lake where there was also a redhead Smew.I took
the opportunity of taking more Bewick’s Swan
bill pattern photographs in the bright conditions which were the best for quite
a number of days.

7th January 2011 – A cold, wet and
misty day.However, the temperature
started to climb in the evening and was almost 10 deg. C. by 2100, which was
the highest for over a month.A
total of 7mm of rain recorded today.At Nagshead between 1500 and 1530, it was very
dark, cold, wet and foggy and apart from a couple of Blackbirds and a Jay
around the short trail, I noted nothing else other than a fleeting glimpse of
an unidentified bird on two occasions.The conditions were dire really and this showed itself in the bird
presence.

6th January 2011 – Slimbridge between 1245 and 1620.It was overcast becoming brighter.It was cool with the temperature at
about 3 deg. C. all day.Rushy Pen was empty apart from a few Mallard and Coot with
3 Mute Swans because of some essential work which had to be carried out in the
morning and which unavoidably caused a disturbance.I went up the Sloane Tower to locate the
Bewick’s Swans and discovered that the majority
were either were on the Dumbles or on the river
sandbanks.I walked down the canal
and in the roadside fields before the canal, I noted a Song Thrush together
with just a few Redwing.There were
many Lapwing on one of the canalside fields and down
near the South Finger hide, the remaining Bewicks’
Swans numbering 59(14).A Little
Grebe was on the canal and a Kestrel was overflying
the swans.Back at the Centre at
1600 for the feed, a small number of birds had returned to the Rushy Pen including the long staying Pink-footed Goose.

5th January 2011 – It was a very
wet start to the day with 4mm of rain by noon.By early afternoon it was very dark but
brightened up later and stopped raining.I had a quick trip to Nagshead RSPB Reserve,
walking up from the stone works at Cannop.Here a Nuthatch flew over with
food.At short way up the Bixslade Tramway there were 3 Fallow Deer.Towards dusk, a light mist came down.

4th January 2011 – It was too
cloudy to see the partial eclipse of the sun at dawn.I called in at Minsterworth
on my way to Ashleworth and Slimbridge.In a field just a few hundred metres
south of the A40/A48 junction there were two adult Whooper Swans and a cygnet
and two adult Mute Swans.

At
1115, I was at Ashleworth and the sun was beginning
to come out.All of the water is
still frozen except for a small portion in a field two back from the road.I could hear Wigeon
but initially I could not see them but with a bit of careful scanning, I picked
up one or two with a Teal or two behind thick vegetation which precluded an
exact count.A small Chaffinch
flock passed through, numbering 7 birds and Long-tailed Tits with Blue Tits
were in the hedgerow near the hide.Above this, a Peregrine was chasing a Carrion Crow.

At
Slimbridge in the afternoon, it was much more
overcast.On South Lake, there were
several Gadwall among the Tufted Duck.There was also plenty of ice but some free water.On Rushy Pen,
there were a lot of birds.The most
interesting and the most educational was the appearance of the Lesser Scaup, a bird very like it alongside accompanied by a
female Tufted Duck and a Greater Scaup.The lookalike
Lesser Scaup had a black band across the tip of the
bill, had a dark eye and the head shape was subtly different and not quite
right but at a glance it gave the impression of a Scaup.At the Zeiss
Hide, there was a lot of ice but there were some Teal and Wigeon.At the Holden Tower at 1500 it was very
quiet but on the Tack Piece there were many Wigeon,
making like a slow moving carpet on the field. No White-fronted Geese were seen
today.

3rd January 2011 – I went to
Speech House today to attend the rally to prevent the Forest of Dean being sold
off to private enterprise.First, I
went to Woorgreens Lake but as expected it was frozen
over.A small party of tits
appeared with some Goldfinches.They were mostly Blue Tits and they spent time out of sight in the rushes
at the edge of the ice foraging whereas the finches remained in the trees.Speech House Lake was, unsurprisingly,
also frozen over.I would guess
that these lakes have been like this since the beginning of December 2010 such
has been the severity of the cold.The Met Office has announced that December was the coldest for 100
years!Around 1115 a fine and very
light granular snow/sleet began to fall and by 1400, more fluffy snow was in
evidence.There was a very light
dusting of snow by dark and the temperature hovered around 0 deg. C. all
day.

Nagshead between 1600 and 1630 around the short trail was
very quiet apart from a Long-tailed Tit flock not far from the information
centre and the calls of Blackbirds going to roost on a very dark late
afternoon, made somewhat magical by the ectremely
light covering of snow, the roads being unaffected.

2nd January 2011 – Ashleworth 1150 to 1220. Still overcast and at 2 deg. C. it
was a cool morning.There was still
some ice on the scrape but two of the surrounding fields were quite wet and
apparently ice free.On the field
behind the scrape there were about 100 duck of 3 species, Mallard, Teal and Wigeon but it was not possible to make a count as many were
hidden by vegetation.A Cormorant overflew as did 3 Mute Swans.A flock of Long-tailed Tits were near
the hide.

Slimbridge, 1335 to 1620.A slightly brighter afternoon but not as
light as forcast.Nevertheless, I covered part of the
reserve.There is a large number of
Wigeon present and which have returned after the big
freeze of December.There appeared
to be more Bewick’s Swans present too.I had a count at 1530 of 200 birds with
more arriving as the feed approached.On the Rushy Pen among the myriad of birds,
there was at least one Greater Scaup and one much
rarer Lesser Scaup, the latter showing very close to
the hide near the binocular shop.

Out
from the Robbie Garnett hide there were at least 480 White-fronted Geese in the
far distance of the Tack Piece.One
had a neck collar which was difficult to read but it may have been H-YU on a
very dark background.I will have to
try to find it again in better light and at closer range to confirm the
details. A Peregrine oversaw the field from the top of the oaks to the north
and by contrast, almost under the hide, a Water Rail ambled by and then flew.

1st January 2011 - Happy New Year.

It
was an overcast opening day to the new year at Longhope
at 0715 and the temperature was only 5 deg. C.The first bird of the year was a Tawny
Owl heard calling near the house.

I went to Strumble Head in Pembrokeshire.Near the end of the M4 motorway, a Red
Kite sailed over. Once inside the county, there appeared to be many, small
Starling flocks foraging at the roadsides.They were not particularly disturbed as the traffic was very light.At the Flagpoles car park in Goodwick, I scanned the beach and harbour.Singles of Dunlin, Ringed Plover,
Turnstone, Redshank, Curlew and Turnstone were accompanied by the usual
multitude of Black-headed Gulls and Herring Gulls and a few Great Black-backed Gulls
with several Oystercatchers roaming the beach. On the water was a sole Great
Crested Grebe.

I moved on to Strumble Head.Upon arrival, I immediately was alerted to a Black-throated Diver which
was flying past.I recorded several
dense flocks of gulls loafing on the surface and feeding steadily.Many of these were Kittiwakes.There were plenty of auks, Razorbills
and Guillemots but mainly the former were also passing frequently.Two pairs of Common Scoter passed to the
west and surprisingly at this time of year there were several Gannets in
evidence.I walked to Portsychan Beach and back up the farm tracks to the road
where I found the usual resident House Sparrows.It is always great to see this species
which appear to be in a deep decline.A few Redwings were in the field behind the farm.

Back at Strumble Head, I joined Seawatch
for the new years day Porpoise Watch.See the cetacean page. 42 species noted today.